salokcinnodrog

Are you looking at doing overnights, or just as a day shelter? If its just days for the both of you in the same swim then an Oval Umbrella should do you fine, worked for years Chub, TFG, and goodness knows most tackle manufacturers all make Oval Brollies. If overnights, then Smufter started this thread a while back, it does go to two pages, so I think there are a few recommendations on there:

@finchey The TFG Oval and Power Brolly both take an overwrap they make. I do admit you have to get extra storm poles for the Oval, and it only has a half groundsheet that velcros in, but I had a spare groundsheet from another system I had. Oval Brolly, £80, overwrap £70 I think from memory. I think Phil Dalts Power brolly system is £130 ish, and I know thats a pretty good system as I have a mate who loves his.

The D Rig is probably one of the most adaptable rigs and is suitable for pop-ups, snowman and bottom baits. It is also pretty much the basis for the Chod rig. Again, you are using a standard knotless knot, but using the tag end to put the rig ring on, and putting the tag back through the eye of the hook, and lighter blobbing it. I have tied one on Fluorocarbon, just as a demonstration, but it can be tied on mono, coated braid, even plain braid or as part of a Combi-rig when attached to a stiffer boom section. The bait is attached to a rig ring. As a pop-up rig, tie a stop knot with power gum and mould putty around it at the height you want the bait popped up, use an match anglers olivette, or pop-up depth charge, or with a combi-rig, mould the putty around the knot join.

My sliding/revolving rig with the rig ring free running up and down the shank, I remember reading something similar in one of Rob Maylins books sometime before 1994. I adapted it to my fishing. It has the useful addition of being a resetting blowback style rig, able to be taken in even if the rig ring has been blown up to the eye. When I started using and catching fish on it in 2008, for a short period it made its way into a couple of magazines as newest rig available, but has dropped from fashion again. I do use various incarnations of Hinged rigs, as Multi rigs, 360, etc. The stiff boom ensures a tidy lay out, and the swivel or ring gives something that putty will stick to. On my small local, it is the only pop-up rig that works, and I have tried others!

Simple answer, is it still under guarantee? Take it back to tackle shop and get them to return it to manufacturer, or speak directly to manufacturer. Incidentally, your first port of call should be the person or shop who sold it to you. Tackle manufacturers are normally quite good if you miss out the shop though. Looking at that pic, the electronics are totally covered in that waterproofing plastic, the heat could have screwed any resistor or electronic component.

Its difficult to find a generic overwrap now. It used to be possible to get a wrap that fitted over any standard umbrella, but now with everyone making umbrella's, it doesn't seem like there is a single overwrap.

I think the magazines are good at naming the 'latest' rigs. Kenny Dorsett probably didn't christen his critically balanced rig with the hair leaving the shank after 2 turns the KD rig. I am pretty positive that some mag did the dirt on that one! Saying that, I'm sure it was Zenon Bojko or Rob Maylin who named the Helicopter rig, on the basis that the rig spun around the mainline, with the bomb on the end of the line, like a helicopter. I used to be amused that a subject talked about on here, a month later made it into the various magazines, often in Rotary Letters, and some claimed to be original thoughts. The original CarpWorld rotary's were original, but later magazines...

Got to keep practising knots

Chances are most of them are used Or I tie rigs to grab a quick picture then scrap them.

I like my rigs to look tidy, personal obsession, but in most cases, 'any' rig in the right place is better than no rig in the water at all. On some waters though, you may have to be more advanced. There were a couple of interesting threads about complicating rigs: https://www.carp.com/topic/20405-do-we-over-think-or-needlessly-complicate/ https://www.carp.com/topic/358-complicated-rigs/

Century were I think were the first and quite possibly still, the only rod company to Autoclave their rods. In basic terms the wet resined blanks have all of the air and excess resin vacuumed out of them, so they retain their strength and stiffness. A while I had a long conversation with Simon Chilcott about Century rods, and I believe he said they use carbon pre-preg cloths that no other rod manufacturer is able to get hold of from the F1, space and aeronautical industries. He also mentioned that Economic and Technological sanctions prevent China from using many of the more advanced carbons in the rod industry. This may mean that any rod manufacturer who has rods made in China is not using the best materials, and why they can produce rods a lot more cheaply as the materials are not as good, more prone to 'going off', losing their stiffness, or breaking.

Todays driving music

I'm the same as LJC, don't make things more complicated than they need to be. A standard knotless knotted rig probably catches most of the carp each week, and works for bottom baits and pop-ups. They look like pop-up rigs, with movement, but as Vik says, the pop-up may have too much separation from the hook. For pop-ups, I prefer the bait tight to the hook, although a long hair can cause confusion as per Bill Cottam and Brian Garner when The Mangrove was first opened up. My go-to pop-up (and snowman) is often a D-rig, (and often on a longer shank hook), a bit of movement, it resets and hookholds are usually nailed properly. Me personally, I tie pop-ups on, although I recently had a revelation with that as I have been meshing baits. Mesh the bait, a twist of braid (dental floss) and knot it, leave the tag ends, then cut the mesh and lighter tag it. Using the braid tie the pop-up to a rig ring on the D-rig. The bait screws are brilliant, don't get me wrong, but crayfish can remove the bait without your knowledge, or any indication. Last year on Nazeing they were so bad, even meshed pop-ups got munched! I ended up using wooden balls as 'permanent' pop-ups with a blooming great match anglers olivettes as the counterweight. In fact I ended up with tench over 12 and carp to 28lb doing that.

Saw something like that this week, a green light strip around someones bivvy door when their alarms went off. Don't think the tufty was the expected result...

I'm a fan of Petzl

I'm still using Century's Big Bertha and her DD's, and a Shimano Aerlex 8000. Still putting Spombs and spods over 100. I did get an Abu Segra Spod rod for Ardleigh, but braid wore the guides through, creating grooves, so I bought Big Bertha around 9 years ago. The reel I bought when I was fishing Earith, so thats over 10 years old as well. I see no reason to change what works for me.

Took me a while to notice this, I think braided rigs especially, DON'T have them kicked out dead straight, allow them to fall over as they go.

Must admit I'm lucky in that many swims are gravelled so water drains away, not all are though, some do become a paddy field when its wet. That nice January catch I had a few years ago, I was kneeling in water, or on a carrier bag when I was doing pics. I do carry a spare groundsheet with my bivvy, it rolls up small enough to fit in the umbrella bag wrapped around the brolly, and my spare unhooking mat becomes a dog bed as well as me walking over it. By the way Nige, check out your spelling, you've dropped an American spelling in a post

Don't be facetious Last week was torrential rain at times, my Delks got a soaking, never let me down. Sure the vibration sensor was different to Optonics, and not being funny, when I owned Optonics I was constantly wishing they were more sensitive. I went from two vane wheels to four vane, then 12 vanes in them. I think at one point i had made vanes out of milk bottle tops! Fishing over particles I do find the maximum sensitivity useful. A single bleep can be a fish. On the Optonics I had a couple of bite-offs when they simply weren't sensitive enough. I would much rather pay for the privilege of using a British made product, from a British owned company, which has lasted, than some imported goods from China which may well have been made in some sweatshop. That is a genuine privilege which I am happy to support.

I wouldn't be stupid enough to dunk any alarm underwater, but actually according to Delkim, even if they do get dropped in, if they get dried out properly in a warm environment they will work. As for reliable, an alarm is only totally reliable if it gives you full indication, and at times, that is the vibration indication from a take that you will not get on a roller wheel alarm. A roller wheel totally reliable? What happens if it gets frozen still? That is lost indication, which makes it not totally reliable. The vibration sensing rocker switch ir whatever it is called is reliable, never had one fail myself, on runs, dropbacks or vibrations. Delkim also offer a 2 year guarantee, of their reliability.

Never had a problem with my Delkims, other than my own stupidity, like leaving flat batteries in, or breaking the battery connection wire, even then the repair was cheap and quickly done by Delkim. Purchased I think in 2000, still working, still on my buzzer bars, or banksticks for pike fishing. Oh yes, my nice carp alarms get battered and bruised, covered in mud while pike fishing as well. Please don't make me laugh about Fox alarms, I have worked in tackle shops since 1995, and the most returned faulty alarms were Fox, number of Delkims returned were minimal, in fact I honestly can't think of any. Do your Atts have vibration sensing? No? Not so reliable then are they The number of fish I have caught on semi-fixed leads when I have not had a proper run from the vibration sensing, when line movement is just noticeable, and you can put the sensitivity down enough so that ignores waves, but still picks up fish indication. With almost all other alarms you have to have a proper run, or dropback. What is the big saying? Oh yes, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Because Delkims aren't broken they have no need to try to fix or bring out a new alarm. Saying that, even then, they managed to bring out the more budget EV range, which is still better than most other alarms on the market. Maybe because Fox is broken they need to bring out a new range every few years, or maybe its because they want to con you out of more money. Money, which to be honest, you have no need to spend if you have a proper decent set of alarms in the first place.

If the NTXr was so good why did it need replacing? Cheaper price may mean cheaper components that don't work so well, not so good, or it may mean some cheap child sweat shop in the Middle East. I like Delkim because they stick with the same alarm and don't constantly change it. Part of the reason I will never change to a Fox alarm is because they keep changing the range every few years. Next thing Delkim is a British family owned business, and the alarms are made in the UK, so as far as i'm concerned, Delkim are ahead by far.

Jogging bottoms under combat trousers, or combat trousers and Hoggs of Fife Field Pro Strathmoor trousers over the top. http://www.cherrytreecountryclothing.com/hoggs-of-fife-strathmoor-trousers/ T-shirt and Fleece, or my latest is t-shirt with British Army Cold weather top over that with zip fleece and then combat jacket if cold, although I have been looking at the jacket from Hoggs to match the trousers For boots i'm on TFG https://www.totalfishinggear.co.uk/buy.cfm/boots/tf-gear-extreme-green-and-rockhopper-boots/39/no/54644

Lets see, I rebuilt my old Armalites to how I wanted them, sadly they were stolen. I now have a pair of Carp Fanatic 2.5lb TC which I use on a water which has theft problems, 3 Century 2.75lb NG's to my specifications, and 3 Rod Hutchinson The One in 3.25lb TC. I'm not bad at building and rebuilding rods, although when it gets to more than a hobby as it does at times it gets annoying. I can make a fair bit of money out of building rods for fresh and salt water. I have some lovely stalking rods, fly rods, even some gorgeous bass blanks. Most rod guide manufacturers seem to be taking a leaf out of or basing their guides on those from Pac Bay, and many of the best rod blanks come from the same source, far better than most Chinese built blanks.

I use Coated and plain braids, dependant on my fishing. No tangle problems with a plain braid if you use it correctly That may mean using PVA, corn nuggets or even feathering your casts down properly.